Blood Orange Pavlova

In keeping with my "classic American desserts" theme, I’ve prepared for you all a very loose interpretation of lemon meringue pie. I’ve quite literally flipped it on its head, turning it into a pavlova filled with blood orange curd. This recipe yields a very impressive dessert that’s much easier to make than it looks. If you can make a basic lemon meringue pie, you can easily make this too. In fact, I think that omitting the pastry crust makes it less of a hassle. Both of the main components, the curd and the meringue, can be made well in advance, though the composed dessert should be served right away. I think this combination of crispy-chewy meringue with tart, sunset-orange curd and billowy whipped cream makes for a refreshing and beautiful treat to brighten up a winter’s day.

Jump to recipe

History

This week I’ll be briefly covering the histories of two desserts: lemon meringue pie and pavlova.

Lemon meringue pie, though less iconic than some other American pies, is an enduring classic in its own right. A simple combination of lemon curd filling baked into a crust with a meringue topping (that often uses the egg whites left behind after the yolks are used in the curd), lemon meringue pie is a naturally great juxtaposition of tart and sweet. This pie, so far as I can tell, doesn’t have much of a storied history or any super compelling anecdotes. It likely derives from the French tarte au citron, a similar pastry made of shortcrust pastry and lemon curd filling. It seems most likely to me that an enterprising American baker had some leftover egg whites after baking their lemon pie and whipped it into a quick meringue topping. Simple, right?

A bit less simple is the history of the pavlova. A dessert of Australian (or New Zealand, depending on who you ask) origin, it is said that pavlova was created by the pastry chef at a hotel in the early 20th century in honor of then-superstar ballerina, Anna Pavlova. However, evidence of this specific dessert has been largely lost to time, leaving Australians and New Zealanders to squabble over to whom the dessert truly belongs. Recent historical research, however, has unearthed some surprising connections. The oldest known desserts that share a resemblance to what we now call a pavlova come from Germany and the USA in the form of the spanische windtorte and its derivatives. Regardless of where it comes from (you can draw your own conclusions) pavlova is a lovely, ethereal, ingenious combination of meringue, cream, and fruit that manages to feel decadent and light at the same time.

The Recipe: Blood Orange Pavlova

For the meringue base:

4 large egg whites (save the yolks!) (~120g)

¾ teaspoon white vinegar

200g granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the blood orange curd:

zest from 2 blood oranges

130g (⅔ cup) granulated sugar

4 large egg yolks (reserved from meringue) (~80g)

1 large egg (~50g)

120g blood orange juice (½ cup), from about 3 medium oranges

60g lemon juice (¼ cup), from about 1 large or 2 medium lemons

¼ teaspoon Morton or ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

65g (⅓ cup) olive oil

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the whipped cream:

226g (8oz) cream cheese, softened

56g (½ cup) confectioner’s sugar

454g (2 cups) heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To assemble:

blood orange slices, to decorate

To make the meringue:

Preheat your oven to 250°f. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), combine the egg whites and vinegar. Mix for a minute or two on medium-low speed until the egg whites are broken up and becoming frothy. Increase the speed to medium-high and, as the eggs whip, gradually sprinkle in the sugar about a tablespoon at a time. Don’t rush this; gradual addition prevents lumps and improves the stability of the meringue. This should take around 5-ish minutes. Once all the sugar is in, continue mixing until the egg whites form a dense, glossy mass that starts to gather around the whisk and holds a stiff peak when the whisk is lifted straight up and out of the mixture. It should be shiny, marshmallowy, stable, and a bit sticky. When you’ve reached this point, add the vanilla and beat just until incorporated.

Scrape the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet and use the back of a spoon to spread it into a mound about 6 inches in diameter. Don’t spread it flat, you want it to still be relatively tall. Use the spoon to hollow out the center, creating a large cavity for the filling to sit in. When you’re done, you should have a 7-inch disc with a deep, 5-6 inch wide crater in the middle.

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake undisturbed for 2 hours and 30 minutes. Don’t open the oven during this time, as an influx of cool air into the oven could cause the meringue to crack and fracture. When the 150 minutes is up, turn the oven off and prop open the door with the handle of a wooden spoon. Allow the meringue to slowly cool in the cracked-open oven for at least 2 hours to finish drying out.

After the meringue has finished cooling, set it aside at room temperature until you’re ready to assemble the pavlova. It will keep at room temperature for up to three days.

To make the curd:

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the orange zest and granulated sugar. Use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar until it clumps up a bit and the sugar starts to look like damp sand.

Add the egg yolks and whole egg and whisk vigorously until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thick, smooth, and pale yellow, about a minute.

Whisk in the juices and the salt and place the pot over medium heat.

Cook the curd, whisking constantly, until it thickens, holds the marks of the whisk, and you can see large bubbles forming when you stop whisking for a moment, about 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape the bottom and corners of the saucepan to ensure everything gets cooked evenly. Immediately scrape the cooked curd into a medium bowl and, while whisking, slowly drizzle in the oil. Once it’s all in, add the vanilla.

Transfer the curd into a non-metal container or bowl (such as glass or plastic) and place a sheet of plastic wrap over directly against the surface of the curd. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours. This recipe makes about double the amount of curd you’ll need for the pavlova. I recommend making the full amount, as it will prevent overcooking, and curd in the fridge is never a bad thing. It will keep for at least a week and is happy to be spread on toast, biscuits, pancakes, or anything else you have lying around.

To make the cream:

Combine the cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk (or in a large bowl, if using a handheld mixer). Mix on medium speed until the sugar and cream cheese are thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and keep mixing at medium-high speed while gradually adding the cream. Once the cream is in, continue whipping until the mixture is thick and holds stiff peaks. Mix in the vanilla.

To assemble:

In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup of the orange curd with half of the whipped cream. Place the meringue base on a serving plate and spread a thin layer of whipped cream in the cavity. Dollop a thin layer of orange curd over the cream and spread the curd and cream mixture over that. Mound the remaining whipped cream on top, swooping and swirling it with the back of a spoon. Decorate with a few dollops of curd and the blood orange slices. Serve immediately. Pavlova only keeps well for a few hours, as the cream and curd will soften the crisp meringue.

Resources:

Francois, Zoe. Zoe Bakes Cakes. Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale, 2021.

Greenspan, Dorie. Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021.

McDowell, Erin Jeanne, and Mark Weinberg. The Book on PIE: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.

Parks, Stella, Santos Penny de los, and J. Kenji López-Alt. Bravetart: Iconic American Desserts. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.

Preston, Marguerite. “The Dessert Australians and New Zealanders Are Squabbling Over.” Food52. Food52, September 26, 2018. https://food52.com/blog/16810-the-dessert-australians-and-new-zealanders-are-squabbling-over.